VANDENBERG'S MOONKINGS - ST (2014)

Genre - Hard Rock / Bluesy Rock

Label -  Mascot Records

Track listing:

01 - Lust And Lies

02 - Close To You

03 - Good Thing

04 - Breathing

05 - Steal Away

06 - Line Of Fire

07 - Out Of Reach

08 - Feel It

09 - Leave This Town

10 - One Step Behind

11 - Leeches

12 - Nothing Touches

13 - Sailing Ships (feat. David Coverdale)

Happily after many years of absence (too many), former Whitesnake guitarist Adrian Vandenberg is finally back with his brand now band VANDENBERG'S MOONKINGS, a whole new group formed with unknown but talented youngsters, especially Coverdale-esque vocalist Jan Hoving.

The music flows with a pristine fluidity and at the same time exciting but yet familiar, surprising but still comfortable by using many traditional and well known elements as the groovy Hendrix riffage of “Leeches”, the Zeppelin vibes of “Close To You” / “Leave This Town”, or the beautiful acoustic intro for “Out Of Reach”.

Of course the Whitesnake's feel it's in Adrian's veins, as heard on the breathy Coverdalian “One Step Behind” and the over the top “Steal Away”, but also the American modern feel of “Breathing” completed with subtle strings layers and even the Tyketto flavor present at the beginning of “Feel It” .
The sound on the recording is quite flawless, vintage warm but still crisp and delicate, a real studio mastery in the proud method of the grand influential artists and far from amateurish of many cheap releases, with each instrument completely interleaved with each other, all enhanced by keen discreet backing vocals.
Adrian Vandenberg holds a true savoir-faire in crafting those songs, brilliant rockers in a real classic (in every sense of the meaning) album canvas.
The final surprise is the Whitesnake cover of “Sailing Ships” presented in a new arrangement, performed in a new fashion right in between the original version and the acoustic performance as shown in 'Starkers In Tokyo'. And yes, we have the one and only David Coverdale on guest vocals in fine form providing his best signature pipes for this superb cut once written by Vandenberg for '89s 'Slip Of The Tongue'. A killer tribute to their mutual past.

A great debut well worth checking out!

Rating 9/10